Roses and Thorns: Past and Future
by Kiriana-Uchiha
Summary: Miku is a 15 year old girl who has just started at Sarayashiki Junior High. She stumbles upon Yusuke's secret, and is brought onto the team and uses her special abilities to help them. Her and Kurama become close, and with the Dark Tournament approaching, Koenma delivers some shocking news to Miku. What happens to her new relationships when her past comes back to haunt her?
1. Welcome to Sarayashiki

**A/N Hey everyone! Hope you enjoy this new story of mine. I am a HUGE YYH fan and adore just about all the characters. That being said, I do NOT own or have any affiliation with this anime. I do own my OC and the plot that doesn't follow the anime... ENJOY! =)**

"Bye Mom, bye Dad! See you when I get home." Miku yelled running out the door, throwing her bag over her shoulder as she did so. Miku had just settled into a new house, in a new city. She was looking forward to a fresh start in this new place. Both of her parents had passed away. Her mother died giving birth to her. Her father had passed away just recently in a car crash. Miku was an incredibly strong 15 year old girl. Her father's recent death was hard for her at first, but she picked herself up and had to move on. She was going to make her parents proud of her. She had her neighbor help her with things after her father's funeral. He helped her get a smaller house for herself in a new city. Miku took care of enrolling into the new school and most everything else.

Miku was one of those rare people who enjoyed going to school, and meeting new people. You would never call her a 'people person' until you actually got to know her. That was something her father had always tried to break her of. He would always tell her "Hun, if you just open up a little more, you would have so many friends." Miku walked the short distance to her new school, smiling along the way. She would now be attending Sarayashiki Junior High, and she couldn't be more excited.

Miku was 5'8, with beautiful auburn hair that came to her mid back. She had subtle layers in her hair, and her face was framed with a few shorter locks. Her eyes were a pale green, almost that green color you find in Mint Chocolate-Chip ice cream. Her father always used to tell her that her eyes were that color because she ate that ice cream so much. Miku had a fair complexion that made her eyes and hair stand out even more.

Once at school, Miku made her way to her classes. She decided to find her locker later, once she had a reason to go there. She didn't have much problem finding her first class. Once inside, Miku quickly picked an empty seat. She noticed a few people giving her strange looks; you know those awkward and confused looks all the new students get on their first day. Right as she sat down, the teacher walked in and called attention to the front of the class. He ran through the list of names, and when he announced Miku's name, he requested that she stand up and say a few words about herself. She nodded and stood next to her desk. "Hi everyone, I'm Miku Hazane, I just moved here and am really looking forward to meeting all of you." Miku gave a slight bow and sat back down. She received a few hellos and welcomes from the students. Most of them just ignored her.

"Ms. Hazane, since you're new here, I would advise you to stay close to Ms. Yukimura here. She's the pride of this school." Miku looked in the direction the teacher indicated. The girl looked at Miku and smiled, which Miku happily returned. The teacher finished attendance and started the lecture. The rest of the period went by uneventful. For Miku, her classes went mostly the same. She would stand up and introduce herself and say a few words about herself.

Come lunch time, Miku was more than happy to steal a few minutes alone for herself. She headed up to the roof of the school thinking she would be alone. Oh was she so wrong. Miku opened the door to the roof and immediately saw a boy in a bright green jumpsuit with dark slicked back hair.

"Oh I'm sorry; I didn't think anyone would be up here." Miku said, sounding a little down. The boy looked up and replied.

"No problem. I always hide up here anyway." The boy paused. "Hey… are you new here? I don't remember seeing you."

"Yes. I just moved here. Today is my first day. I'm Miku Hazane. Nice to meet you." Miku said with a smile.

"Yusuke. Likewise."

"YUSUKEEE!" Yusuke looked up and froze. _**/Damn it Botan… Not NOW! /**_ Yusuke thought as he looked around for his blue-haired friend. He figured out where he was when he saw a very confused and slightly terrified look on Miku's face.

"Yusuke! We have an em- Oh dear…" Botan caught her mistake when she saw the petite girl staring at her.

"What is it Botan?" Yusuke muttered through gritted teeth.

"Uh, well Yusuke, this isn't something we should talk about right now." Botan said, lifting up one hand to hide her other one pointing at Miku. Yusuke twitched.

"Are you kidding me?! You fly in here and then expect to just walk away like nothing happened?" Yusuke yelled, waving his fists and stomping his foot. Miku laughed at the display.

"What's so funny?!" Yusuke snapped, turning on his heel to face Miku. Miku held her hands in front of her in defense.

"Nothing! But if you need me to I'll leave. It's not that big of a deal. I would like to know how the hell she's flying though." Miku finished, pointing at Botan. Botan gave a nervous laugh and sweat dropped. Before anything else could be said, there was a ringing sound heard coming from inside Botan's sleeve.

"Oh! One second. What is it Koenma?" Botan said flipping open a small compact.

"Botan, I need you to look for someone while you're at Yusuke's school. She's a transfer student, and she has a very special ability. She could be useful to Yusuke on his cases. Especially this one."

"Uh, Koenma Sir, I think I may have found her already. Do you know what she looks like?" Botan asked.

"Yes, I can send you a picture if you like."

"No, I just need you to look at this girl and tell me…" Botan said as she started to turn the compact around. Miku got a little worried.

"Gah! Wait Botan I-…. That's her!" Koenma yelled. Miku stared at the miniature device and tried so hard not to laugh. She was looking at a baby! What made it even better was the fact that he was sucking on a pacifier.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound rude but… You're… a baby. What the hell is going on?" The 'baby' as she so put it, sighed and responded to Miku's question.

"I understand you reaction, Miku. If you come with Botan, I will personally explain everything to you, including why I would like you to help Yusuke." The toddler offered.

"Well… I have a guess at why you want my help. It's because I can sense peoples' spirit energy. Am I correct?" Miku was suddenly a lot more serious than she had been today.

"That's correct, Miku." Koenma responded. Miku sighed.

"Alright. I'll come along, but I would like to know what I'm getting into first." Miku stated firmly.

"Hold on a minute. I want to know what the hell is going on here!" Yusuke said waving his arms toward Miku.

"Yusuke, you and Miku will meet Botan after school and come here to receive your case." Koenma finished his sentence and the screen went blank. Botan turned the compact back toward her and stared at it blankly for a few seconds.

"Uhh, well I guess that's it then. I'll meet you two up here after school!" Botan said cheerily as she flew off.

"Damn it, wait a minute! BOTAAAN!" Yusuke screamed after the blue-haired girl. When he realized it was useless, he growled and turned toward Miku.

"Sorry about that. You said you could detect spirit energy huh?" Yusuke questioned. Miku turned toward Yusuke and nodded.

"Yeah, I've been able to do it since I was little. I usually turn it down though. It gets a little, nauseating after a while. The higher their energy, the worse it is for me." Yusuke nodded.

"Soooo basically I don't want you to get nauseous on these cases. Fair enough." Yusuke said with his goofy little grin. Miku gave a small giggle.

"Yeah sounds about right." Before anything else could be said, the lunch bell rang and both teens needed to head back to class. Miku turned to walk toward the door, and when Yusuke didn't follow, she inquired as to why.

"I hate school. All my teachers do is nag." Yusuke voiced, shoving his hands into his pockets. Miku laughed again.

"Alright well, I'll meet you here after school. See ya." The young girl said waiving as she walked through the door.

XxXxXxXx AFTER SCHOOL xXxXxXxX

The final bell rang and Miku made her way up to the roof. She did her best to avoid being seen for obvious reasons. Most students probably wouldn't be headed up to the roof after school. Once up there, she saw Yusuke and Botan waiting for her. She felt bad for making them wait, even if school did just end. She walked over to the two and Botan instructed the teens to hold on tight. They each grabbed hold of the end of her oar and she took off. Miku freaked for a second, she wasn't a fan of heights. Miku looked around and saw many different colors. She guessed they were in some type of warp tunnel. Once out of the other end, Mike looked down and saw a long, skinny river. "Wow, The River Styx, never thought I'd actually get to see it still being alive." Miku said out loud. Botan looked back at the girl.

"I see you've done your homework." Botan mused. Miku smiled. The trio arrived at a giant gate, and Botan pressed a button and announced herself and guests.

"Botan here, I've got Yusuke and Miku." Botan released the button and immediately the doors opened. The group walked into the building. Miku looked around as they walked; Yusuke had already been there, so he wasn't all that interested. They reached another huge door, and again, Botan pressed a button and spoke, waiting to be let in. Once the door opened, they group proceeded into the room and behind a desk, was sitting Koenma. Miku heard Yusuke snicker, and admittedly she too had to laugh. Koenma cleared his throat. He gave Miku some credit for at least controlling her laughter.

"Thank you for bringing them Botan. Yusuke, I have a new case for you. This one unfortunately is a bit more difficult than what I would like to send you on, but I have no choice. Three demons have broken into the vault and taken three very important artifacts. The Forlorn Hope, which grants the wish of anyone who uses it. A trade must be made but no one knows what it is. The Orb of Baast, which can take the souls of human children right out of the body. And the Shadow Sword, which creates a demon out of anything it cuts. These items are dangerous Yusuke, and unfortunately this case has very short time limit."

"OK, so how long are we talking?" Yusuke asked, quite serious.

"Only a week" Koenma said, rather darkly.

"A WEEK?! Are you serious?" Yusuke stumbled back a little.

"Yes, because then my Dad will be back from vacation, and if he finds out I let those items get stolen he'll kill me!" Koenma started to throw a little tantrum. Miku let out a quiet giggle and she bit her finger to stifle any more noise from escaping.

"Alright, alright, I'll get your items back." Yusuke said waving his hand. Koenma nodded.

"Miku, the reason I asked you here is because you could be of use to Yusuke with your ability. You could use your ability to sense the location of those carrying the items. Even better when you find them, you can let Yusuke know their power level so he doesn't act like the idiot he usually is." Miku busted out laughing at the last part. All of this was crazy to her to begin with, but the fact that a toddler was giving instructions to a couple of teenagers was priceless.

"OK, I have no problem helping Yusuke, but how does he have these cases? I don't understand how a human is working for someone from Spirit World." Miku wasn't quite sure how she knew so much about this place, she just did.

"It's a rather long story, but I suppose I can give you a short version. Yusuke has actually already died. By completing a trial of sorts, he was able to come back into his body and in doing so, has gained some unique powers. After that, I brought him on as my Spirit Detective, and now send him on cases in the Human World. I think that's good enough for now. Yusuke can fill you in on all the details later." Miku nodded.

"Fair enough. I'll do what I can to help, but I don't know how much good I'll be. I can't fight really." Yusuke huffed.

"Relax. I'll handle the fighting; I just need you to tell me who's who." Yusuke said with a smirk, trying to reassure his new friend. Miku returned his confidence with a smile.

"Yusuke I don't know who stole these artifacts yet so I can't give you any information on them." Koenma put a bit of a damper on the mood.

"No problem. Miku and I can find them. If you find out anything else, let us know." Yusuke said, turning to walk out the door. Miku followed suit.

XxXxXxXx MIKU'S HOME xXxXxXxX

Miku flopped onto her bed with a loud sigh. She had had one hell of a day and she was just trying to process everything. She rolled over and grabbed the picture of her parents she kept on her bedside table.

"Well you guys, I made a new friend at least. Even have some sort of a job! You both probably think I'm crazy. Hell… I even think it's crazy." Miku smiled as she stared at the picture for a few more minutes before running and jumping in the shower. She and Yusuke agreed to meet after school the next day to start looking for the artifacts.


	2. The Artifacts

**A/N OK this is chapter 2! =) Hope you enjoy. Excited that 2 people already followed this story. **

School the next day was a blur for Miku. She was actually excited for that afternoon. Maybe excited wasn't the word, anticipation may be a better way to describe it. She was nervous, but something about it gave her a thrill that she had never felt before.

When the final bell rang, Miku headed to the front of school where Yusuke was supposed to be waiting with Botan, however she wasn't there.

"Hey, where's Botan?" Miku asked as she jogged up to Yusuke.

"Change of plans. She said to meet back at my place. She said she had a few gadgets that could help us." Yusuke said sounding rather annoyed. Miku nodded.

"Alright I guess. Lead the way." Miku said gesturing ahead of her with her arms. She and Yusuke walked along in silence for a few minutes until Miku spoke up.

"So, since we have time would you mind filling me in on the details that Koenma left out last night?" Yusuke looked at Miku and thought for a second.

"Yeah, why not? OK so the whole thing started one day after I left school early. I was walking around downtown and this little boy was playing with a soccer ball. I stopped him because he was playing too close to the street and he was going to get hurt. Well the brat ignores me, and then this car comes speeding around the corner headed right for the kid. I jump in front of the car and push the kid out of the way, and I got hit. As Koenma said, I died. When Botan showed up; she took me to Spirit World and after I had a laughing fit over Koenma, he told me that if I wanted I could go through an 'ordeal' and get my life back. So, my ordeal was taking care of a Spirit Beast egg. The egg fed off of my soul basically and when it hatched, it would either become something that would help me orr… eat me." Miku cringed at that last part. "Anyway, there ended up being a fire at my house, and my body was about to be burned before I could get back into it. Keiko ran into the burning house like an idiot and I decided that her life was more important than mine. I threw the egg into the flames to save her. Well, I was ready to head to Spirit World, and Koenma appears and tells me that the real ordeal was whether or not I would choose my life over someone else's. So here I am, back in the flesh, the new Spirit Detective of the Spirit World." Yusuke finished with a sort of 'ta-da' flare. Miku couldn't help but giggle. She was about to ask him who Keiko was, but her attention, and Yusuke's were drawn to a crowd of people. The pair ran over and saw a little boy lying on the ground. He was unresponsive, and Miku noticed that the boy had no pupils. Suddenly, a small white cloud floated out of the boys open mouth. Miku gasped, and Yusuke noticed it too. No one else seemed to see it. Miku and Yusuke looked at each other and nodded. They got up and followed the boy's soul down the street and into an alley. They both slowed down and took it slow, watching their backs as they proceeded.

The pair came to an opening at the end of the alley. There were a few thugs around, and they each glanced over one another to see if there was any indication on who had the Orb. Yusuke and Miku both landed on the same person and their bodies tightened. Yusuke looked at Miku, who nodded. They both saw horns coming from the top of a man's head. The only thing, they were transparent, like they were seeing what was supposed to be there. Yusuke pulled out the Psychic Spy Glass that Botan had given him a few days ago. The man with the horns had the Orb of Baast inside his pocket. Yusuke looked at Miku and jerked his head toward the man. No sooner than he did that, the man stood up, yawned, and began walking away. The duo went to follow him, but were cut off by a few of the thugs that were around.

"Hey buddy, I need some cash, got any on ya?" Miku backed a little behind Yusuke, and Yusuke responded.

"No sorry. Don't have any on me." He said as he tried to walk away. The thug grabbed Yusuke's arm, and Yusuke looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Let go of me, or you will regret it." Yusuke warned. The thug didn't budge. So, Yusuke hauled off and punched the man in the face. After that, a few more thugs jumped in and tried to fight Yusuke. Yusuke pushed Miku back and yelled." I don't have time for this!" He made quick work of the few thugs and turned to Miku. "Hey, you alright?" Miku nodded. They looked around for the one with the Orb, but they didn't see him.

"Damn it!" Yusuke cursed.

"Relax Yusuke, I saw where he went. Come on." Miku turned and ran back down the alley. They ended up at the edge of the forest. After a while, Miku had to rely on her senses to find him. Once they got to the edge of the forest, Miku pointed out the bright patch of sun in the middle. Yusuke sweat dropped. It had started raining, so it was easy to notice. The pair ran off in that direction.

Shortly after, they came to the clearing. Yusuke had grabbed a branch to keeps himself dry. Miku had thrown her jacket over her head. They watched for a minute or two at the scene unfolding before them.

"An incredibly short demon was darting around the clearing, slashing his sword around. He slashed a tree, and Miku had to stifle a gasp as a demon formed from the trunk. It leapt into the air and flew a short distance before landing and turning into a wooden statue. Miku looked around at the three men in the clearing. The short one with the sword had black spiky hair. There was a whit star pattern in his bangs. He wore a black cloak and a white scarf. The man from the alley was incredibly tall. He had on a tight green shirt which he tucked into his jeans. He had light brown short hair, and was really well built. The third man, Miku noticed, seemed to be around her and Yusuke's age. He had long bright red hair that came to his mid back. His eyes were a gorgeous emerald green. He was relatively tall, maybe a few inches taller than Miku was. He was wearing a school uniform similar to those that were worn by the boys at Miku's school, it was just pink. Miku shook her head and focused back on the event unfolding in front of her. Unfortunately, Yusuke took it upon himself to intrude.

"Hey guys, mind if I join you?" Miku slapped her forehead and walked out with Yusuke.

"Just who the hell are you?" The short one with spiky hair asked.

"Glad you asked, I'm Yusuke, and I'm a Spirit Detective" Yusuke tossed the branch aside with flair, and looked to Miku. Miku shook her head.

"You're unbelievable. I can't believe you just… never mind." Miku said shaking her head.

"Hah, you should listen to the human girl. She seems to have some common sense." The short one quipped. That hit a nerve with Miku.

"Listen you prick, just give back the damn artifacts and you can leave." Now it was Yusuke's turn to stare. The short demon glared at the girl. The red haired boy turned and began to leave. Now it was Yusuke's turn to speak.

"Hey where are you going?" He asked.

"Sorry, I don't have the time to be arrested." The boy calmly answered. The short demon yelled after him.

"Kurama, wait!" The demon said as he seemed to vanish. Miku gasped. _**/Damn… He's fast./**_ Miku thought to herself.

"So much for manners." Miku heard Yusuke mumble.

"Don't worry. Unlike those two I actually have manners."

"Good, then just hand over that Orb and we'll be on our way." Yusuke said with a grin.

"Tell you what; I'll give you the Orb nicely if I can't rip your head off." The large demon said. Miku was worried. She still couldn't get a read on this demon's strength. There was something covering it. She could easily sense through masking of energies, but this was different. Something wasn't right.

"Sounds good to me." Yusuke said, starting to sound a little too cocky.

"First, I need to have a little snack, if you don't mind." The demon said, pulling the Orb out of his pocket. He reached into the Orb and pulled out a small cloud that the two had seen earlier. Miku gasped.

"I-is that the little boy's soul?"

"People don't understand how hard it is to eat human souls. You need to cook the humans so they taste good, but not enough to kill them. This Orb takes all the guess work out of it. Takes them right out of the body still alive." The demon finished and put the soul into his mouth.

"Spit him out!" Yusuke said as he hit the demon in the gut with a knee, and in the side of the face with a hard right hook. Miku cringed, and watched the soul float off into the sky. As soon as the soul disappeared, the sun followed suit and the rain began to fall again.

Yusuke walked over to the Orb that had rolled away when the demon fell.

"Haha, one down, two to go. That wasn't so bad." He said with a grin. Miku turned to Yusuke and before she could say anything, the demon appeared behind him. Yusuke jumped away and faced the demon.

"What the hell. Get back down; I hit you too hard for you to be standing." The demon laughed.

"I'll admit kid, you hit pretty good. But you'll have to do better than that." The demon began to glow an ominous red. His hair grew longer and five horns grew out from his head. As if he wasn't big enough to begin with, his body increased in size. His muscles grew; he became taller, and uglier in Miku's opinion. Yusuke was stunned, and that was enough time for the demon to take a swipe at him. Yusuke managed to dodge enough so that the demon's claws only tore his shirt. However, the blow was enough to make Yusuke drop the Orb. Miku went to make a grab for it, but the demon appeared in front of her. Miku tried to back off, but the demon grabbed her by her hair. He pulled her from the ground and let her dangle in the air. Miku grabbed the back of her head and let out a small scream.

"Let her go!" Yusuke said, charging the demon. The demon laughed and threw Miku, she collided with a tree. He head bouncing off the hard trunk.

"As you wish." The demon said turning toward Yusuke.

"Bastard!" Yusuke yelled. _**/Damn it… Next time I see Koenma I have to ask him how to fight monsters. /**_ Yusuke glanced at his unconscious friend, but she was gone. _**/What the hell?! Maybe she hid. Yeah that's gotta be it. /**_ Yusuke was brought back to the fight when he was hit with a tree. The demon had ripped a tree form the ground and swung it like a baseball bat. When Yusuke returned to his feet, he remembered his Spirit Gun.

"That's right!" Yusuke exclaimed as he held his hand in his trademark gun shape. "What the hell, why isn't it working?!" Yusuke paused for a minute. "Damn it, that's right. I can only use it once a day. Damn you Iwamoto." Yusuke looked up at the demon that was walking toward him.

"You wanna know the best seasonings for a human soul? A little fear and a dash of pain!" The demon said with a sadistic laugh. Yusuke froze. _**/Damn it! I'm really gonna die... AGAIN! /**_

**XxXxXxXx** MIKU'S P.O.V. **xXxXxXxX**

Miku began to regain consciousness. She felt like she was swaying, at first she thought it was just her head pounding. Miku opened her eyes and realized she in fact was swaying. She felt herself in someone's arms, and they were running. Miku groaned and shifted.

"You're safe now. Just relax." Miku knew that voice. Once it registered, she pushed herself out of the person's arms and landed hard on the ground.

"You're injured. Let me help you." The red-haired boy from the clearing bent down to help Miku up. She pulled away.

"Back off. You're an enemy. Why would you help me?" Miku said trying to stand. The red head's featured dropped.

"I'm not like them. I only agreed to help them because I have use of the mirror. Please, I won't hurt you." The boy pleaded with Miku.

"Give me one reason why I should trust you." Miku demanded, her vision getting blurry, and her strength failing her.

"If I wanted to hurt you, it would have been more than easy with you unconscious. Instead, I took you away from danger." The boy could see Miku losing focus. "Please, we need to get you to a hospital." The boy walked toward Miku and caught her as she collapsed. He slipped an arm under her legs and her back. He felt her stiff body, and asked her to relax.

"Please, trust me. I will get you help and when you're better I will explain everything." Miku felt her body relax as she rested against the boys' chest.

Miku stirred from her sleep. Emerald green eyes darted from the book they were currently looking at. The boy watch as Miku tried to sit up.

"Please, don't push yourself." The boy said forcing Miku to stay lying down. Miku shifted her gaze.

"You're in the hospital. The doctor said you'll be fine, but you need to take it easy." Miku nodded.

"Can you at least tell me your name so I can properly thank you?" She said turning her head toward the boy. She noticed how attractive he really was.

"Well, that's a bit complicated. Let me explain everything, then you'll understand. I was a demon in another life; a Spirit Fox to be precise. Back then I was known as Yoko Kurama. Here in the Human World, I go by Suichi. You can call me Kurama any other time, but around people I know please refer to me as Suichi." Miku nodded, letting Kurama know he could continue. "Back in Demon world, I had a bit of a reputation for myself. I was a thief, and my favorite thing to do was break any type of code or puzzle I could find. I was very good at it. One raid I allowed myself to become too careless and I was badly injured. I used what energy I had left and escaped into the Human World and entered the body of an unborn fetus to recover my power. The process was much slower that I had anticipated, but when I finally recovered, I couldn't bring myself to leave. Growing up I caused my human mother so much pain, and I believe I resented her. I felt that she was inferior to me, yet she never once showed any sign of sadness. One day I was in the kitchen helping get ready for dinner, and I fell from the counter and a few of the glass plates shattered below me. My mother saved me and in doing so, she was very badly injured. From that day on I had a new respect for her, and I couldn't leave after that. I developed feelings for this woman as my human mother. Recently, she fell very ill and I can't help but feel I somehow caused her illness." The boy paused and waited to see if Miku had any questions.

"OK, wow. I follow you so far, but I still don't understand why you broke into the vault. If you care about your mother so much, they why do something that you knew would get you into so much trouble?"

"Hiei is the one who came to me. Somehow he managed to track me down and when I heard what he was planning, I had every intention of refusing until I remembered the powers of the Forlorn Hope. I can use it to heal my mother. I just need a few days." Kurama looked at the girl, his eyes seeming to plead with her to believe him.

"I understand. I don't believe you're lying to me. Seeing as you did help me, I guess I can give you the few days you ask for." Miku had to suppress a laugh. She knew she couldn't do anything to get the mirror, and she knew that Kurama knew as well.

"Thank you. Since you seem to be doing well, would you mind if I went to visit my mother for a while?" Kurama asked, Miku just shook her head. She wasn't sure why he was asking her permission. Kurama smiled and said he would be back to check on her before he left.


End file.
